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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28373358">One day from Missandei´s perspective</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Undbitr/pseuds/Undbitr'>Undbitr</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>POV Missandei (ASoIaF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:53:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,842</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28373358</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Undbitr/pseuds/Undbitr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>15 Years have passed since Daenerys failed atempt of taking the Iron Throne, and the young scribe Missandei of Naath is now must face new chalenges to protect the legacy that the Breaker of Chains leave in Meereen. Flashbacks, intrigues, Old and new friends and foes, holesome (in my opinion) end for the city arc. This is my best translation atempt of my old work "Un dia desde la perspectiva de Missandei", the original idea was to make a few stories about what happened after Dreams of Spring. I hope you enjoy it and i will really, really REALLY apreciate if you leave a coment about my writing. Good, bad, or if it´s hard to understand becouse of the translation, everithing helps</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>One day from Missandei´s perspective</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I reject any type of authorship on these characters and the world where they exist, both belong to R.R. Martin.</p><p>To recognize the main characters I suggest to have readen the chapters of Daenerys and Barrystan Selmy in Dance of Dragons, if you don´t, here is a quick reminder</p><p>Missandei: Scribe, interpreter and friend of Daenerys</p><p>Tumco Lho, Red Lamb, Larraq the Lash: Squires trained by Ser Barristan Selmy (In the book they were between 12 and 20 years old, Red Lamb being the youngest)</p><p>Reznak mo Reznak: Perfumed Seneschal apointed by Daenerys in A Dance with Dragons</p><p>Skahaz mo Kandaq: Shaved head, leader of the Brazen Beasts and advisor to Daenerys in A Dance with Dragons</p><p>Camarron of the Count, Ithoke the Fearless: Meereen Gladiators</p><p>Stalwart Shields, Free Brothers, Mother´s Men: Companies of former slaves Trained by the Unsullied.</p><p>To better remember the geography of Slaver´s Bay, I recommend ESSOS_by_Klaradox, If you don´t read this Fic, make sure to look for it aniway, it's the best ASOIAF map I've ever seen.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Heart of Meereen: One day from Missandei´s perspective</p><p> </p><p>Before even opening her eyes, Missandei felt the silence that meant the end of the rain. "What a relief" she thought sleepily before shuffeling slowly towards the terrace. The water was a blesing for the arid soil of Slave Bay (celebrations had lasted for days), but when the rain keept falling ruining the fields arround Meereen the celebrations had met an end. For a city that consumed more food than the one it olready produced, loosing half of the harvest was an unmistakable omen of famin and turmoil, yet from the balcony at the top of her piramyd, Meereen apeared silent and still, just as if someone had painted the city with muted colors and displayed the canvas it in front of her. The woman watched in silence how the silence slowly transformed into murmurs and the sun began to peek timidly between the mountains. Sometimes Missandei stayed awake during those hours, perhaps because dawn was a moment when she felt free from responsibilities and could listen her own thoughts. Yes, it was because of that… yet sometimes... sometimes it was also when she could remember her friend and the long talks they shared during the dead of the night.</p><p>She turned her gaze towards the Great Pyramid in the center of the city and set it on the statue at the top. The bronze harpy that once crowned the building representing the might of Ghis, had been replaced by a new statue ment to honor the Mother of Dragons. The Daenerys Targaryen at the top of the piramid was made of shining tin alloy that could well pass for silver, and the artisans had crafted every detail to amanate authority and greatness. The Daenerys Missandei had met was regal, yet human, the one in the pyramid was a goddess whose imponent height and fierce features lacked the warmth and kindness of the former queen, this one was properly intimidating. "They have turned her into the harpy" she lamented. The rest of the city looked preaty much the same as in the old days, but there were small, olmost imperceptible changes that made an even greater diference than the statue of Daenerys, like the soked banners toping the pyramids that once belonged to Loraq and Galare. After uncovering the Green Grace as the leader of the Sons of the Harpy and the Hizdar´s plot to poison Daenerys, both families had been vanquisehd by the raging freedman and were now the headquarters of the Free Man and the Stalwart Shields. The pyramid of the Kandaq family, currently the headquarters of the Mother´s Men and where Missandei stood at that very moment had a different story, although no less bloody. Following Daenerys's departure, Shavedpate and his followers took control of the city and the Brazen Beasts performed such nefarious acts under his authority that even the Freedmen rejected Skahaz mo Kandaq as king of the city, leading to riots, mass looting and chaos, and after Skahaz mo Kandaq was deposed by the new council of Meereen, his family members were expelled from the city as punishment, but also to spare them the fate of the Loraqs and the Galares. "The city prospers thanks to you Kandaq" thought Missandei. She felt a little guilty for taking adventage, if the city had´t gone through so much misery and suffering with the Shavepate, they would never have allowed them to form the council.</p><p>When the sun became fully visible over the mountains she decide it was no longer time to duel in the past and walked back into her quarters. The room was wide, walls covered by colorfull hangings depicting Naath and the marshes of Baselisk Island were the greatest ornament for the rest of the room was quite sober and the only large forniture was a wardrobe, a table with two benches and the bed she shared with her husband. Tumco Lho slept peacefully face down on the bed half uncovered, showing his ink-black muscular back with barely any scars (rare for a warrior) and his face showed an easy expression. She set down next to him and felt no envy for his paceful slumber, for it was no a sight she saw every night.</p><p>Sometimes Tumco had nightmares about Westeross. About how the queen had been treacherously slain and how the scorpions fire had pierced Drogon's wings before he could reach her, how they had olmost defeated the northern forces when the cavalry of the Valley and The Riverlands attacked their flanks in a pincer, about Selmy charging like a demon through the enemy ranks and slaying the treator himself, about how Missandei's brother Mossador had stayed in the rear holding their enemies so the rest could flee on the Dornish ships ... and especially how Ser Barristan had died days later from the wounds he had suffered in battle. The dreams had become less frequent with the pass of time, but Missandei knew that Tumco could not show himself weak to anyone except her and so every time he wake up from his dark dreams she would hug him and calm him in the language of Sothoryos they shared. Missandei herself did´t suffer nightmares, only because her memories were much more vivid than those of Tumco, way too vivid to hide on her dreams. Tumco had the image of the knight bleeding to death, but she could remember the sadness on his voice.</p><p>-… failed, I have failed you my queen… I have failed you forever… and I have failed you… Rhaegar</p><p>- (Tumco Lho) He's raving! Bring the maester!</p><p>- (Red Lamb) Worry not Sire! We shall avenge the queen, we can reagroup in Dorn and</p><p>- (Barristan) no ... NO</p><p>The knight's second refusal had sounded more lucid than anything he had said in the last hours, but even in his clarity his words were laden with pain. Larraq the Leashe was in the next litter, he had been the last one to escape and the arrows had left one of his arms useless and a dozen other wounds, but after hearing the knight's refusal, he had managed to sit up.</p><p>- (Larraq) Then what do we do? Ser Barristan, we... we are the knights of the queen, what can we do without her? What can we do without Mhysa?</p><p>The knight had gathered his remaininglife force and told them he had failed to protect Daenerys, but thefour of them could still protect her legacy, not in Westeross where she had been rejected and betrayed, but on Slavers Bay. Red Lam had begged for him to join them, but Ser Barristan had insited that such mission was theirs and his was to protect the queen in the next world. Those were Barristan last words.</p><p>The had bouth mourned the knight, and from that shared pain they had build a bond of friendship that latter had become love and she was happy that her husband was slowly but surely letting go of his past. After enjoying her husband paceful dremas for a little longer, she called her maid downstairs and asked for hot water and some food, before grabbing the bed sheets and uncovering Tumco with a swift motion.</p><p>- (Missandei) It is daytime— Tumco awaked, but did not move a single inch, she faked a severe voice— The city is already up and you are still in bed, what a terrible example for your soldiers.</p><p>- (Tumco) The Mother´s Men are well trained, they can do without their captain for ten more minutes - Missandei keept act and smiled playfully.</p><p>- (Missandei) Well, I can't. I am the representative of the freedmen in the council of Meereen, and since you are under my authority, I comand you to get up and take a bath— Tumco sat on the bed and looked at her sleepily.</p><p>- (Tumco) Very well, if it is an order from the honorable councilor, I will get up, but I warn you... I will not be the one to do the paperwork— Missandei laughed - Be careful wife, if you keep forcing me to get up early I may organize a coup.</p><p>- (Missandei) Camarron would back you right away, although Burnt Hands would support me.</p><p>The former pitfighter Camarron of the Count was the captain of the Free Brothers while the Stelwart Shields were comanded by the veteran unsulied Burnt Hands. One passionate, the other dicipline personified, the two alongside Tumco Lho who had replaced the late Mossador as the capitan of the Mother´s Men, led the three companies that conformed the meereenese army.</p><p>A few of servants entered the room carrying hot water and before leaving they informed Missandei that several people were requesting an audience with the representative of the freedmen and that many others wanted to know if she would temporarily assume the position of seneschal until Reznak appointed a successor.</p><p>- (Tumco) So it's true, Reznak leaves the council _</p><p>- (Missandei) Unfortunately. He is tired and wants to spend the rest of his days drinking peach liqueur and enjoying old ghiscar´s poetry in his gardens - She went to the closet and selected an orange tokar trimmed in gold that highlighted her golden eyes and dusky skin.</p><p>- (Tumco) That is not going to please the old bloods, Reznak was the most influential person they had on the council.</p><p>- (Missandei) Indeed, they won't like it at all.</p><p>The servants returned with the food, Missandei dispensed them and bath quickly before wearing the tokar. As a high authority she could have the servants to bath and dress her every morning, but she would felt ridiculous as an adult woman being helped with such basic chores, and luckily so did Tumco, who she rushed to kiss before leaving for work. At the first level of the pyramid she found two Men of the Mother that her husband had designated to escort her, and after failing to send them away the three were joined on the street by two brazen beasts from the City Guard. Regardless of the personal escorts of each councilor, they were always accompanied by the brazen beasts, in part to reinforce the credibility of the city guard, but also because the captain of the bronze beasts liked to be informed of what the other counselors were doing during the day. Following the rule imposed by Queen Daenerys, their escorts wore colorfull clothes and their faces were cover by bronze masks in the shape of animals, and that day Missandei escorts were a monkey and a crocodile who leed the small group to the entrance of the Great Pyramid at the center of Meereen. The beasts stayed on the first floor where the city police headquarters was located and before taking the wooden elevator Missandei saw from afar the captain of the guard with his characteristic dragon-faced mask, she would have talked to him but he was surrounded by sergeants and she was late so their salute would wait until they met on the council. Her husband's men stayed in the waiting room while the counselor entered her study. She didn't like that room compared to the one she had next to her qarters, but when it came to receiving the freedmen she had to do it in the Great Pyramid, or they would thought she was looking down on them.</p><p>In the waiting room she glimpsed a nervous-walking woman in a simple, worn linen tunic and leather sandals, just by looking at her anguished face Misandei knew she had come because of the spoiled harvest. Missandei invited her in first and ofered her a chalice of watered wine. Once the woman calmed herself,she told her in the language of trade her village no longer had enough food to pay the olive tax owed to the city, maby not even to feed themselves. Missandei kindly explained that there was no longer a fixed fee, and the tribut was paid over the exedents.</p><p>- Don't worry you can forget the taxes and use what you have to tend yourselves- The woman's features softened, but not too much.</p><p>- What if even that isn´t enough?</p><p>In the end she had managed to calm her down, but she shared her unease,Meereen foodstorage could not simply be distribut among the peasants for the citizens would starve within the walls. The next one spoke Ghiscari, a wealthy freedman named Gamon who had difficulty making deals with the merchants who used rowing slaves on their galleys as they feared they would be freed if they maked porton Meereen. He wanted a document that would ensure safe docking.</p><p>- City law approves galleys moved by salaried rowers or criminals, your partners know thi, but they want to see if they can set a precedent and continue bringing slaves in the future. In any case Gamon, everything concerning the docks is in hands of Councilor Mezzara, why do you come to me?</p><p>- Well, because I am a freedman, honorable councilor. I thought asking your Splendor first, you could intercede on my behalf, we could improve greatly th city's commerce if you could just help me get a written guarantee that ...</p><p>- Tell your associates that the only guarantee I give them is that I will free their rowers if they don't leave immediately. You too can get out of my sight.</p><p>The man stormed off, but beneath her stoic features she was far angrier than he was. It was men like Gamon she hated the most, slaves who once freed saw nothing wrong in others being slaves. "He even called me Splendor, piece of…"- her assistant peek ot the door</p><p>- Councilor Missandei, there are six farmers and two people from Astapor, who do you want to see next? - Her mind went blank for a few seconds before answering her to send the Astaporis and then write a proclamation addressed to all the peasants of the territory to follow the same instructions he had given the woman. The Astaporis were a scribe woman and her unsullied bodiguard, the woman spoke in High Valyrian... "Sometimes I think they put me here just because I speak all languages"... And brought excellent news. With the help of the Dornish they had managed the livestock and crops in such a way that the rain had barely afected them and could send suplies to Meereen if the ships were provided. The amount was not clear yet, but sometimes it was easier to put together several small solutions than find a definitive one. Missandei was grateful to the woman and fix her a meeting with councilor Mezzara on the port district, and some rooms in the guest wing of the Greate Pyramid so that she could freshen up and that after the travel. As the woman stepped out into the corridor, the unsullied whispered a few words in the shadowland´s tongue Missandei had tought to all her spies.</p><p>- 200 bandits south of the Worm river, maybe mercenaries. Two galleys of New Ghis. 14 spies dead against 4 of ours - Missandei gave no sign of hering him.</p><p>The butler put on her desk the proclamation she had asked for, but while pretending to read the words on the document she meditated on the two people she had just head. Among those who came to the Slavers Bay after Westeross´s failed conquest were many dornish who, after fighting for the Daenerys, had had to fleet fearing the Martells would hand them over to ensure Dorne's peace with the other kingdoms. Some had gone to the Rhyone, some others to the Free Cities, but most of them had stayed on the empty city of Astapor, a place similar in weather to their homeland where they could preserve their old ways of life. Their arrival of the Dornish had been a blessing. They brought a wide knowledge of agriculture in desertic soil and because they were westerossy they quept slavery banished. "No doubt they were the ones who know how to save the harvest from the rain" Missandei thought as she signed the edict. It was only after the assistant left when she ponder the information her spy had given her. Astapor was a satellite city of Meereen, but it was also the southern stronghold from where the entire territory was defended from slave capturing raids and where the hardest spy warfare was fought. Fourteen spies in a single moon was nothing outside of comon, but what worried the counselor were the bandits. 200 could be perfectly 300 or even 500, and even if they were not that many she was afraid that the fierce Dornishmen would answer to the provocations with spears. That was the war the New Ghis waged against them, provocations with spies, provocations with ships, provocations with bandits, provocations with whatever it took for the Astaporis or the council to take a wrong step and break the peace that Missandei was trying so hard to keep.</p><p>The rest of the afternoon she read over hundred written requests plus a few reports from her spies in the city and a letter from Reznak mo Reznak inviting her to the terrace of the Great Pyramid to watch the sunset together, which she sent back with a positive response. When her assistant informed her that there were no more petitions or reports to read, the meeting in the council room was still two hours away, so Missandei decided to go out and buy something to eat at the Great Pyramid market. The two bodyguards escorted her to the ground floor where two new brazed beasts were asigned to "acompany the honorable council member to the market. Her escorts, this time a bear and a bat , made their way through the crowd as she stopped at each stall greeting the vendors and admiring their products. She finally settled on figs and roasted corn with pepper and onions and some dog sausages for the four bodygards. The brazen beasts gratefully accepted and raised their masks to eat, one was over forty and the other barely twenty, one freed and the other from the Reznak family, both hungry and much more willing to talk than the stoic guards her husband had apointed for her. As they ate on a bench, they heard the noise coming from the Daznak Pit in the distance. She was quite far yet the cheers and boos of the public could be heard easily. - Who fights today?- She asked the brazen beasts.</p><p>- Ithoke the Fearless against Lomas the Lunatic - said the young man of the Reznak family - It is said that this day Ithoke will finally be striped of his champion title</p><p>- In your dreams - said the freedman - No one will defeat the champion, much less that clown.</p><p>- Do you want to bet?</p><p>Missandei never ceased to amaze herself by how much people enjoyed the carnage in the fighting pits. Almost every Meereenese had a favorite gladiator who they followed, and when they did not attend the events they kept themselves informed about the fights and the results. Daenerys had tried to ban them from fighting, but Missandei knew that doing so would only increase the number of clandestine fights. It was also unfair to deny the pit fighters right to fight each other, especially after the role they had played in the history of the city. When the fight between the Great Masters and Skahaz mo Kandaq reached its worst, citizens who couldn´t hide on the pyramids began to seek refuge behind the walls of the Daznak´s pit. This outraged the fighters who could no longer fight with their stage full of refugie builting tents and feasting on cooking the lions. The pit fighters chose Camarron of the Count as their leader and forcibly opened the city gates so the citizens could escape to the unhabited Astapor. By fate, the defeated supporters of the dragon queen had arrived shortly before at the same location and had found thousands of starving refugees hiding in the ruined city while their lands were being sack by Tolos, Elira, Mantarys, New Ghis and even a small dothraki khalassar all while the ShavedPates and the Great Masters fought like dogs within Meereen.</p><p>They wandered through the market until the meeting of the council was soon to start and they whent back to the Great Pyramid. At the entrance, a group of bronze beasts chatted about how Ithoke had gutted Lomas the Lunatic and a sour bat paid ten copper coins to a the laughing bear after saying goodbye. The room of the meeting was at the very center of the piramid and had several excesses all of them known only by the counselors (and their spies) and it was completely empty except for a round ebony table and chairs for the counsil. Missandei was the first to arrive. Reznak mo Reznak had always beated Missandei at arriving firt, but now his stall was empty and that made her feel worse than when he had told her. The room seemed much emptier without its vibrant purple tokar and his fruity perfume that could suffocate them to death on a hot day. Missandei had taken a liking to him, if Tumco Lho, Larraq the Leash and Red Lamb had Ser Barristan as their guide and teacher, Missandei had Daenerys, but it was Reznak who had taught her the weaving and crafting of power that the idealistic yet naive Daenerys Targaryen had failed to grasp. Reznak was a dark man, that was true, but he had never let the darkness contaminate him, he controlled it and used it for the benefit of the city and its inhabitants, the greatest proof of this had been the reconquest of Meereen.</p><p>"... As always the heroes roar and defy the gods, but don't forget that it is your wit that will keep this rebellion alive. Let them seize glory while you seize the power"</p><p>Missandei was 14 when she read those words in a letter that Reznak had sent to Astapor with one of his spies. The death of Daenerys and her own brother Mossador had destroyed her, but the mission to protect Daenerys´s legacy entrusted to her by Ser Barristan brought the young scribe back to life. She had in her hands a mixture of defeated warriors without a leader and fugitive citizens led by feisty warlords and arrogant pitfighters, but after reading the letter she discovered that she had the tools to take control, she only had to show a way to those who were lost. It didn't take a year for her to wrest the leadership from the gladiators, who preferred to kill each other in the pits of Astapor while the starving exiles cheered, and while distracting the masses the three young knights organized a group of volunteers who drove the Dothraki away. The battered fleet of Westeross that had brought them to Slavers Bay began to fish on the high seas producing food for the mases, and Camarron leaded a succesfull embush where he caught and gutted the son of the archon of Tolos and his slingers, putting an end to the incursions of the slaver cities. At the same time in Meereen, a group of young men calling themselves the Cupbearers convinced their parents and uncles to support the rebels against Zkahaz mo Kandaq and secured the support of most of the old blood... and the most important role of hte entire rebellion was performed by Reznak mo Reznak. He gave enough information to Skahaz mo Kandaq to trust him, but not enough for him to find out that the tide had turned and his days were numbered. After two years of greate effort, the undigested mix of freedmen, oldbloods, pitfighters, unsullied, and Dornish marched as one unified army and conquered Meereen on a single day. After the festivities (which lasted days), three things happened: First, many citizens along with most of the unsulied and Dornish people returned to Astapor to settle permanently, secondly Red Lamb gathered every person who had been born in Lhazar like him and marched to Lezhaar to protect the lamb people and unite them into a single flock. Third, the Meereen council was created with Reznak as seneschal plus four councilors.</p><p>As if Missandei had sumoned them with her thoughs, the othe counsilors arrived olmost at the same tima and took their respective seats at the round table. Of the great families was the richest man in the city, Miklaz mo Zhak, who represented the Old bloods (formerly the Great Masters) just as Missandei represented the Freedmen. There was also Mezzara zo Merreq, the greatest merchant in the Slavers Bay and the admiral of the town's small fleet, therfore the counselor of docks and trade. They had both been among the hostages the dragon queen took during her conflict with the Great Masters, but unlike her own families who had given them up to die, Daenerys Targaryen had protected, educated, and even loved them. They had grown up in a world very different from that of the Ghiscari customs, and as adults they had formed the movement of the Queen's Cupbearers, Meereenese of ancient blood but moderate and abhorrent of slavery. It was the cupbearers who had supported Missandei during the reconquest of Meereen and had opened the doors to the liberation army. The third member of the council was Larraq the Leash, Tumco Loh's best friend and current leader of the Brazen Beasts. He had lost one eye and his left hand to a hail of arrows, but with a bronze dragon claw on his stump and a patch of red silk covering his empty socket he was still a fierce warrior and a skilled commander, and no one could took a step in Meereen without him finding out. Lastly, she herself talked fot the freedmen and this time alone would be the acting seneschal of the great pyramid. The seneschal administrative work was also an alibi to cover the intelligence network that spanned the entire Slave Bay, the Gulf of Sorrows, Lezaar, and even the free cities and Vaes Dodrak. Now that Reznak had retired, it was Missandei's duty to use that spy ring to protect a city of free men and women located in the heart of a slaver´s continent.</p><p>The first to speak was Councilor Mezzara.</p><p>- Let's start the Meereen Council meeting, today there are many pressing issues.</p><p>- I agree,- answer the others as was the custom to support an idea. Miklaz was move forward</p><p>- There are many pressing things indeeed- he said with an irritating smile - But the most important thing right now is to talk about a replacement for Reznak."</p><p>It's seneschal Reznak mo Reznak for you - said Missandei. The cold tone of his voice made everyone look wide-eyed in his direction. Miklaz wasn't doing it to show disrespect, but she wasn't going to let her talk about him as if he had died. Milklas recovered quickly and returned to the attack.</p><p>- (Miklaz) Don't misunderstand my words. Trust me, if it was up to me I would rather have a quarter of the power of this city than a fifth, but the Old Blood is pressing and we may be left with less than a tenth part if they decide to boycott us. I may be the richest man in the city, but we are talking about a city with many rich people.</p><p>- (Mezzara) What do the freedmen think?</p><p>- (Larraq) There are divided opinions between adding a new member to the council or leaving it to four members, but they all agree that they do not want one of the Great Masters - "18 years later we are still talking about great masters and slaves" Missandei lamented to herself. "I'm sorry Daenerys, but I think there are chasms that even I won't live long enough to see closed"</p><p>- (Missandei) There are no Great Masters in this city, we are all Meereenos. This discussion is useless, Reznak mo Reznak was the seneschal and i shall take his responsabilities only temporarily. I won´t oppose increasing the number of counselors, but I am against including someone who does not provide a concrete benefit. If we give away counsil sits in echange of favours or popularity we are finished.</p><p>- (Larraq) I agree</p><p>- (Mezzara)… um… I agree</p><p>Miklaz rolled his eyes and waved his hand for the meeting to continue.</p><p>- (Mezzara) Next we have the situation of Lhazar. What do we know about Red Lamb?</p><p>- (Missandei) He sent us a letter informing that, in addition to Hersh and Kosrak, Lhazosh has also joined his coalition. The Dothraki are calm since they repelled their last attack but they are more organized than before. He suspects that the slavers are helping them.</p><p>- (Mezzara) The Red Lamb herd grows, but can he hold it together without Camarron and the Free Brothers?</p><p>- (Missandei) He says that it is too early, but he will send us more meat and wool than we agreed to reward our help. I agree</p><p>- (Miklaz) It's better this way, there are 3,000 fewer mouths to feed and with the extra food that the lamb sends us, we may be able to endure the bad harvest. I agree</p><p>- (Larraq) I also agree. The Lhazarenes are a shield between us and the Dothraki, we have to reinforce that shield whenever we can.</p><p>- (Mezzara) I would agree, but there are already three out of four, I am not necessary - She said grining, and then the smile faded from her face - But I do not agree with the optimism about the food shortage. Lhazar is a source of abundant food, yes, but what will happen if one day they cannot continue to help us? If Mantarys, Elira and Tolos continue to refuse to sell us food and New Ghis continues to obstruct the East, we will always be on the brink of starvation.</p><p>"New Ghis" Missandei thought bitterly. Daenerys had reduced Yunkai to a pile of burned rocks and had reconquered Astapor, but the masters who had escaped the queen's revenge had brought their wealth and bitterness to New Ghis and had tried to harm Meereen from any way they could. At the same time, cities like Mantarys, Elira, and Tolos were still slaveholders and had suffered when Meereen cut off the flow of slaves from the east. They did not have the strength to declare an open war, but they were more than willing to indirectly support the intrigues of New Ghis.</p><p>- (Larraq) We cannot continue to postpone New Ghis forever. If they want to destabilize us from their island, let them do it, in the meantime we should attack their Toulouse dogs. Victory will be swift and both Elira and Mantarys will understand the message.</p><p>- (Miklaz) And that message would be ...?</p><p>- (Larraq) That we can crush them before their Ghiscari friends can save them - "You have become cruel old friend" Missandei thought</p><p>- (Mezzara) I hate war, but I believe that if we act we must do it now that we are strong and not when is the only choice left. I agree</p><p>- (Missandei) Well, I don't agree. If we use fear to get others to do what we want, haw are we better than slavers?. Have you already forgotten everything Mhysa taught us?</p><p>- (Larraq) Mhysa? It's been fifteen years Missandei, get over it. Also if I remember correctly Mhysa was not exactly compassionate towards Yunkai.</p><p>- (Missandei) Have you already forgotten everything Ser Barristan taught you?</p><p>Larraq opened his mouth and closed it again, Missandei had hit the nail on the head. Daenerys had inspired men and women to create a better world and it was her will that had held together people composed of a hundred different ethnicities and the masters who had enslaved them, but it was Barristan Selmy with his code of chivalry that had inspired Larraq to fight for others instead of his own benefit.</p><p>- (Larraq) Don't get Ser Barristan into this!</p><p>- (Missandei) Well, do not stain his memory</p><p>- (Miklazz) I don't agree either. Regardless of what Mhysa and Barristan would have done we already have a third of our army in Lhazar, if we send the rest to attack Tolos, Meereen will be left in a very vulnerable  state. Olso there is no guarantee that victory will be quick.</p><p>- (Larraq) It's Ser Barristan Selmy for you</p><p>- (Mezzara) Two and two, do you see that it is important to have odd numbers?</p><p>"They're buying me," Missandei thought angrily as she pondered what the woman was saying. "Mezzara does not want to go to war, but she wants me to bring in a fifth advisor and if I invite a freedman, he will most likely suport a war against Tolos." Then she looked at Miklaz mo Zhak "You support me with a strong but temporary argument, when the soldiers return from Lhazar we will vote again and then I will need a pacifist on my side, and that would be another of the cupbearers." They had made a finishing move between the two of them.</p><p>- (Missandei) The peace wins this time because I am in charge of two of the five positions and therefore my vote is worth two this time— She said those words with the most irritating and childish tone of voice that he was able to perform— But Mezzara is right, we must choose the fifth or this situation will be repeated in the next meeting.</p><p>- (Miklazz) I agree</p><p>- (Mezzara) I agree</p><p>After that intervention the council passed smoothly: Agents in Vaes Dodrak informed them that two Khalasares were merging. A Khal with more than 5,000 riders was bad news by itself, but they seemed to have no interest in Meereen or his allies, and as long as Red Lamb were in Lhazar to contain them, they weren't an immediate threat. The flood had damaged aqueducts inside the city and needed urgent work, one of the four brick roads leading to the city was in need of maintenance, and one of the Cupbearers wanted founds to explore Sothoryos. Budgets, permits, tributes and reports of little relevance dissipated the previous tension a but Missandei regretted that Meereen was always on the brink of war with her neighbors, and regretted that Reznak was no longer part of the council "Now I must be the voice of the reason".</p><p>- (Mezzara) I think we have seen everything for today, we meet again on the day of the new moon. Counselor Missandei shall bring seneschal Reznak's decision on his replacement.</p><p>- (Miklaz) I agree</p><p>- (Larraq) I agree</p><p>- (Missandei) I agree</p><p>Each left the room through a different door to fulfill their individual duties, and Missandei asked a servant to carry a pitcher of iced peach liqueur and two glasses to the terrace of the Great Pyramid. He had no reason to keep her old friend waiting. Reznak mo Resznak was sitting on the gardens of the Great Pyramid, just passing the time with some of the poetic odes of Old Ghis that he enjoyed so much. Years of bearing the weight of the city on his back and fighting tooth and nail to keep it going had left him hunchbacked and toothless, but he still had his flattering smile and sweetish fragrance under which he hid his steel made determination.</p><p>- (Reznak) Why clouds overshadow your face, sweet girl? Will we suffer famine? Or could it be that the Cupbearers managed to put the fifth leg on the dog?</p><p>- (Missandei) It may be both, but what saddens me is Larraq. He was jovial and above all honorable, but has grown bitter and cruel. There are times when he reminds me of Shavedpate.</p><p>- (Reznak) The young Larraq is the leader of the Brazen beasts my dear, beeing severe is within his duties.</p><p>- (Missandei) There is a difference between being severe and being cruel. When he was the queen's knight he would never have hurt an innocent person, but now he wants to ravage a city that refuses to sell us grain. I think he started to be like that after loosing his hand in Westeross.</p><p>- (Reznak) What he loose in Westeross was his youth— the smile widened, but Missandei noticed a hint of compassion on his wrinkles - He put too much faith, too much honor, too much love in the queen´s cause, he really believed that it was going to change the world ... and when the Daenerys died those dreams died with her. For him, Meereen is her last chance, the last rediming purpose in his life, is it so strange for you what he is willing to do to keep it safe? Lets be grateful at least he still hasn't lowered himself to the level of Miklaz mo Zhak.</p><p>Missandei knew immediately that he had pick on Miklaz to not end his speech with such a gloomy tone and lift her spirits a bit. It had worked</p><p>- (Missandei) Don't be so mean to poor Miklaz, he is very intelligent and he is an indispensable advisor for the city, his only sin is being too pragmatic. I once heard him say that if ten men were to starve, he would cook one to save the other nine.</p><p>- (Reznak) I don´t doubt it, but only if he is sure he won´t be the one to be eaten.</p><p>- I agree - The two heard behindtheir backs.</p><p>Missandei turned and saw Larraq and her husband Tumco Loh walking toward them. They both seemed in good spirits and had the pitcher of peach liqueur with them.</p><p>- (Tumco) We met your servant on the stairs beloved wife, but you were wrong with the number of cups.</p><p>- (Larraq) And with the number of people. Look Tumco, they've infiltrated one of the Great Masters into our secret council.</p><p>The four of them laughed at the joke while Missandei took one of the glasses from her husband and served it to Reznak. She shared the other one with her husband while Larraq drank straight from the jug.</p><p>- (Missandei) Do you hate "pouring on a cup" so much that you drink straight from the jug? - In the ancient language of Ghis, "pouring on a cup" and "cupbearer" were said with the same word. Larraq drank deeply and replied.</p><p>- (Larraq) I can put up with the two in the council, but I would rather avoid geting attached to a third one.</p><p>- (Missandei) Thanks for helping me with my maneuver, I knew what Miklaz and Mezzara were planning but I couldn't win the game without you. I know your desire for war is genuine but please, trust my on this one.</p><p>- (Larraq) I will do what you ask Missandei, I will vote against the war from now on, but don't forget what I really think. Have you already thought about who we should propose as a representative of the Freedmen? I hope not to your husband ...</p><p>The Queen's Cupbearers thought that the council sit under discussion would be that of seneschal to replace Reznak mo Reznak,  what they did not understand was that Reznak himself had been transferring the position to Missandei for the last years. The empty position that would be filled instead would be the representative of the freedmen. Two cupbearers against two freedmen and she as seneschal in the middle of both sides to say the last word. She loved it.</p><p>- (Missandei) Tumco would be a great advisor - she kissed him on the lips while taking away the cup they were sharing - Symos? - Symos had been released in the times of the queen and was one of the leaders of the freedman before of the arrival of Missandei´s group. The charismatic young man hated slavers like the most, but was´t averse to deal with the cupbearers and those of the old blood for the sake of Meereen.</p><p>- (Larraq) I love it. Three against two sounds promising.</p><p>"I'm sorry Larraq, but it won't be exactly that" Missandei thought to herself. Reznak had played the game of running the city from the shadows by leading the old blood and cupbearers to believe that he was ontheir side, and now Missandei would play the same comedy but pretending to be in favor of the freedmen. As the two knights kept talking cheerly while Reznak discreetly seized the peach liqueur and dived back into guishcarian poetry, Missandei walked to the railing and gazed at the city as she had done in the morning. Colorful pyramids above muddy streets, ancient structures below young simbols, bright and dark, unified yet divided, she would continue her work so that this city of contradictions could become the beginning of the end of slavery in the known world. </p><p>She would continue the fight, but not the fight of the Dragon Queen, the fight of Mhysa, the Breaker of Chains, it would not be with fire and blood but with justice, compassion and determination that she, Missandei of Nath, would surpass the legacy of Daenerys Targaryen. As the sun set on the horizon, she turned to the silvery statue on the top of the pyramid.</p><p>- (Missandei) .... how I miss you Danny.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>                                                                                                                                 END</p>
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